NCAA Clearinghouse Information
While the information below will be extremely helpful in determining your NCAA Eligibility, it may not be the most up-to-date due to the ever-changing NCAA Eligibility Information. Due to this, we also request that you go to the NCAA Eligibility Center to ensure you have the most up-to-date and accurate information, https://web3.ncaa.org/ecwr3/.
What Are Core Courses?
NCAA schools require college-bound student-athletes to build a foundation of high school courses to prepare them for the academic expectations in college.
Not all high school classes count as NCAA core courses. Only classes in English, math (Algebra 1 or higher), natural or physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion, or philosophy may be approved as NCAA core courses. Remedial classes and classes completed through credit-by-exam are not considered NCAA core courses.
Classes that are NCAA core courses include:
- English: English 1-4, American Literature, creative writing
- Math: Algebra 1-3, Geometry, statistics
- Natural of physical science: biology, chemistry, physics
- Social science: American History, civics, government
- Additional: comparative religion, foreign language (such as Spanish 1-4)
Classes that are not NCAA core courses include:
- Classes in non-core areas, business, fine arts, or vocations such as driver education, typing, art, music, physical education, or welding.
- Personal skill classes such as personal finance or consumer education.
- Classes taught below grade level, at a slower pace, or with less rigor or depth. These classes are often titled basic, essential, fundamental, or foundational.
- Classes that are not academic in nature such as film appreciation, video editing, or greenhouse management.
If you take a high school class such as Algebra 1 or Spanish 1 before you start ninth grade, the class may count for your 16 core courses if it is on your high school’s list of approved core courses and is shown on your high school transcript with a grade and a credit.
Credit
You can earn credit for a core course only once. If you take a course that repeats the content of another core course, you earn credit for only one of these courses, and the higher grade counts toward your core-course GPA. Generally, you receive the same number of credits from the NCAA for a core course that you receive from your high school for the class. One academic semester of a class counts for .5 of a core course credit. One academic trimester of a class counts for .34 of a core-course credit. One academic quarter of a class counts for .25 of a core-course credit. A one-year class taken over a longer period of time is considered one core course and is not awarded more than one credit.
Division I Additional Core Course
Division I schools allow you to complete one additional core-course unit after you graduate high school, as long as you graduate in eight semesters after you begin ninth grade. The additional core-course unit must be completed within one year after your high school graduation and must be completed before you enroll in college.
The additional core course unit may be taken at a different school than the high school from which you graduated as long as the class is on the new school's list of approved NCAA core courses. If you take the additional core course at a school other than the school from which you graduated, you must provide the NCAA Eligibility Center with an official transcript from the new school showing the additional core course grade and credit.
If you take the additional core course through a program that does not award credit, the course must be awarded credit by a credit-awarding high school.
Division I Academic Eligibility
To be eligible to compete in NCAA sports during your first year at a Division I school, you must graduate high school and meet ALL the following requirements:
- Complete 16 core courses:
- Four years of English
- Three years of math (Algebra 1 or higher)
- Two years of natural/physical science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it)
- One additional year of English, math, or natural/physical science
- Two years of social science
- Four additional years of English, math, natural/physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion or philosophy
- Complete 10 core courses, including seven in English, math, or natural/physical science, before your seventh semester. Once you begin your seventh semester, you may not repeat or replace any of those 10 courses to improve your core-course GPA.
- Earn at least a 2.3 GPA in your core courses.
- Submit your final transcript with proof of graduation to the Eligibility Center.
- In January 2023, NCAA Divisions I and II adopted legislation to remove standardized test scores from initial eligibility requirements for all student-athletes who initially enroll full-time on or after August 1, 2023. Check with the NCAA school you plan to attend regarding whether standardized test scores are necessary for admission or scholarship requirements.
What If I Don't Meet the Requirements?
If you have not met all of the Division I academic standards, you may not compete in your first year at a Division I school. However, if you qualify as an academic redshirt, you may practice during your first term in college and receive an athletics scholarship for the entire year. To qualify as an academic redshirt, you must:
- Earn 16 NCAA-approved core-course credits.
- Four years of English.
- Three years of math (Algebra 1 or higher).
- Two years of science (including one year of lab, if offered).
- One additional year of English, math, or science.
- Two years of social science.
- Four additional years of English, math, science, social science, world language, or nondoctrinal religion/philosophy.
- Earn a minimum 2.0 core-course GPA.
- Submit your final transcript with proof of graduation to the Eligibility Center.
If you are concerned you may not meet the Division I academic requirements, consider taking the following actions:
- Ask for advice and accountability from your high school counselor. Check-in with the admissions or compliance office at the college you hope to attend.
- Get tutoring or other study help.
- Graduate on time. Division I schools allow college-bound student-athletes who graduate on time to take one core course during the year after they graduate high school.
- Avoid quick fixes through credit recovery programs. These courses may not be accepted by the NCAA.
- Keep your coursework. If the NCAA Eligibility Center needs to review your record due to irregularities, you may be asked to provide your coursework.
- Follow your high school's policies. The best thing to do is work within the rules.
Division II Academic Eligibility
To be eligible to compete in NCAA sports during your first year at a Division II school, you must meet academic requirements for your core courses, grade-point average (GPA), and test scores. The requirements are changing for students who enroll full-time at a Division II school after August 1, 2018. You must graduate high school and meet ALL the following requirements:
- Complete 16 core courses:
- Three years of English.
- Two years of math (Algebra 1 or higher).
- Two years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it).
- Three additional years of English, math, or natural or physical science
- Two years of social science
- Four additional years of English, math, natural or physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion, or philosophy
- Earn at least a 2.2 GPA in your core courses.
- Submit your final transcript with proof of graduation to the Eligibility Center.
What If I Don't Meet the Requirements?
If you have not met all of the Division II academic standards, you may not compete in your first year at a Division II school. However, you will be deemed a partial qualifier. All Division II partial qualifiers may practice and receive an athletics scholarship, but may NOT compete, during their first year of full-time enrollment at a Division II school.
- If you are concerned you may not meet the Division II academic requirements, consider taking the following actions:
- Ask for advice and accountability from your high school counselor. Check-in with the admissions or compliance office at the college you hope to attend.
- Get tutoring or other study help.
- Avoid quick fixes through credit recovery programs. These courses may not be accepted by the NCAA.
- Keep your coursework. If the Eligibility Center needs to review your record due to irregularities, you may be asked to provide your coursework.
- Follow your high school's policies. The best thing to do is work within the rules.
If you enroll full-time at a Division II school after Aug. 1, 2018, and you have not met all the Division II academic requirements, you may not compete in your first year. However, if you meet the requirements to be a partial qualifier, you may practice and receive an athletics scholarship in your first year at college. To be a partial qualifier, you must graduate high school and meet ALL the following requirements:
- Complete 16 core courses:
- Three years of English.
- Two years of math (Algebra 1 or higher).
- Two years of natural or physical science (including one year of lab science if your high school offers it).
- Three additional years of English, math, or natural or physical science
- Two years of social science
- Four additional years of English, math, natural or physical science, social science, foreign language, comparative religion, or philosophy Earn at least a 2.0 GPA in your core courses.
- Earn an SAT combined score or ACT sum score matching your core-course GPA on the Division II sliding scale.
If you are concerned you may not meet the Division II academic requirements, consider taking the following actions:
- Ask for advice and accountability from your high school counselor. Check-in with the admissions or compliance office at the college you hope to attend.
- Get tutoring or other study help.
- Graduate on time. Division I schools allow college-bound student-athletes who graduate on time to take one core course during the year after they graduate high school.
- Avoid quick fixes through credit recovery programs. These courses may not be accepted by the NCAA.
- Keep your coursework. If the NCAA Eligibility Center needs to review your record due to irregularities, you may be asked to provide your coursework.
- Follow your high school's policies. The best thing to do is work within the rules.
Amateurism
The NCAA promotes amateurism to create a level playing field for all student-athletes. The young men and women who play college sports are students first, and athletes second. If you want to play NCAA sports at a Division II school you must be an amateur athlete.
Father Judge High School NCAA Approved Course List